two hands?

Who needs to use two hands for the simple task of drinking a bottle??

Pentwater, MI

We got to spend last week vacationing with my family in Pentwater, MI at the Gutwein's lakehouse.  Although 18 members of the Furrer family being packed into one house can lead to chaos, too much noise, messing living quarters, and crying children, I'll focus on the fun memories (which definitely outweigh the crazy ones).

Some pics to recap:

Beck's favorite toy during vacation - a dog that barked and moved around when turned on.  Probably not the favorite toy of everyone else to listen to.  :)

Cuddling with Beckham on the couch and watching the sun come up.  Beck got up before everyone else every day, proving once again how much he likes to make the most out of his time on vacation!

Kayaking with Amber.  Turns out it's harder to paddle through lilly pads than one would think.




Adding a little challenge to dad's croquet game

Amber wishing she lived several decades ago... 




Beck Loved swinging in the hammock.  Apparently everyone in our family loved the hammock, as we had to replace a broken one by the end of the week!  And no, Chad and I were not the guilty parties that outweighed the hammock.  :)



The Beach!



Hanging out in Pentwater and listening to the Thursday night band.  In the words of Amber - think Music Man.  Needless to say, we didn't last too long amidst the elderly crowd.  Maybe we just hit the wrong Thursday.




Oh Beautiful sunset...

Until we visit you again, Michigan...

Guess who's...

9 mos!  Is it the little person hiding under this towel?

Yes, I believe I'm 9 mos. as of yesterday.

And since I'm 9 mos. now, I decided that it's time I started trying to crawl.  I'm not quite there yet, but I have the position down and I move a little.

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Yep, my first 9 mos. have been pretty great.  Life just gets more and more interesting (water facets are my newest fascination) and mom and dad just get funnier and funnier!  My goal for the next month is to start saying ma-ma (instead of just da-da) so that mom of mine will stop bugging me about it. :)

first time for everything

It's so fun to watch Beck experience things for the first time.  Summer provides plenty of opportunities for firsts:

What is this stuff??

I think I like it!

First time at Symphony on the Prairie, making what used to be of my favorite faces - the scrunched nose

Pool time!  This was the first time Beck would get in the pool.  The other times the water was too cold :).

Whew!

The days and weeks always fly by, leaving me wondering when life will slow down, or if it ever will!  Today was one of those days without a dull moment (similar to most days I work):


5.45:  alarm clock goes off - keep sleeping.
6.20:  wake up later than usual - get myself and Beckham ready for the day, along with doing a couple household tasks.
8.30:  finally out the door!
8.45:  drop off Beck at aunt Sheli's, chat with Sheli.
9.15:  arrive at work - yes, it has been only 3 hours since I woke up (typical...).  work (the dullest part of the day :) )
4.15:  leave work and head to the gym... yes, you did the math right.. that makes for only a 7 hr work day.  it's monday, who needs to work a full day?
5.25:  done at the gym.  time to pick up Beck.
6.05:  leave Jim and Sheli's with Beck (of course I had to stay and chat with them again for awhile).  decide I need bananas and stop at Marsh on the way home.
6.30:  home at last!  time to start dinner and hope Beck entertains himself for a bit until dad gets home.
6.50:  Jaimie stops by to drop off Barkley after watching him for us this past wkend (thanks J!) while we were in IL at Ellie's wedding - pics  to come.  chat with J and attempt to keep making dinner while giving Beck his bottle and keeping him happy... but he's having a fussy night.
7.30:  dada (as Beck would say) is home! (work's been a little busy these days)... an extra set of hands has finally arrived. :)  eat dinner with J while Beck enjoys (and fusses through) his favorite Praise Baby video.  yes, it does miraculous things with a discontent child.
8.00:  bath time for Beck, then off to bed.
8.30:  cleaning up the kitchen, Beck doesn't want to sleep.
9.00:  still cleaning the kitchen (hum.. why does this take so long?!)  Beck is having a rare night and is still crying in bed.  time for some mama love.  put Beck to sleep.
9.20:  the kitchen is finally done... time to make some baby food for Beck.  fruit... yum!
9.45:  blog :)
... the only thing left on the agenda for tonight is a shower and maybe a little time with my book (Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult.  mom gave it to me to read at least a year ago and I'm finally getting around to it - good read!)


But how boring would life be without these guys keeping me busy and bringing me joy?

No, we do not have crazy animal print sheets on our bed at home.  This pic was taken on vacation in St. John. :)

Just like Mama

Since Chad claims most of the credit for Beck's looks, I had to get some proof of Beck possessing my qualities as well.  The picture below is all I need... sucking his fingers just like his mama did. :)

The typical way we find Beck in the mornings and after naps - sucking his fingers and laying with his blankets.

A string of tough luck...

So Beck has been a healthy little guy and not had any problems or bumps and bruises.  The last couple months, however, have been another story.  While nothing has been too serious and Beck has kept his cheery disposition thru it all for the most part, here's the list of the fun he's been having. :)


To start us off, he had a case of Roseola which gave him a high fever for a few days (followed by a rash).  The best way to cool off a baby with a high fever?  A damp washcloth on the forehead of course.

Don't those eyes just beg for a little extra lovin'?

Right after the Roseola ended, I learned that it's not a good idea to hold Beckham and make pancakes at the same time.  Result:  burned fingers. :/

My first thought was to lather his fingers with aloe and wrap with gauze.  

That lasted for about 10 seconds until Beck pulled the gauze right off with his mouth.

I resorted to Neosporin and bandaids which worked pretty well actually, at least during the night. :)

  

While his fingers were still healing (which took awhile), he got to experience his first case of 'it burns so bad when my bottom gets wiped with a wet wipe that it makes me cry' diaper rash, which luckily doesn't stick around for too long.  Sorry, no pics of the diaper rash... disappointing, I know.

I also forgot to mention that right after he burned his fingers, Amber and I took Beck to the pool and despite my efforts to keep him in the shade 99% of the time we were there, his back got a little rosy with a small sunburn.  Although I felt horrible, Amber assured me it wasn't as bad as I made it out to be.  I think I was still feeling like a bad mom for getting him close to a hot pan!

Following very soon after, or really overlapping all of this, was Beck's first tooth!  He's now working on the second, which hasn't seemed to bother him too much.  If you look closely you can see the little guys poking thru.

Getting teeth is fun!

Our last little bit of fun was a fungal rash that started before we left for St. John that just got worse while we were gone.  A visit to the Dr. after we got home and some Clotrimazole is taking care of that one.  And of course there was the attack of the mosquitoes during our vacation in St. John I posted about.  

We're hoping that the next couple months are a little less eventful, although with his increased mobility and rolling everywhere, I don't know how hopeful I can be!